PUPPET MAGICPull those Strings

6 Ways To Reuse Old Clothing

If you’re like the most of us raised in a Western spoiled world, every once in a while you’ll take a moment to notice that your bedroom is filled with clothes that you a) never wear, b) can’t get rid of for sentimental reasons, or c) didn’t realize you owned in the first place. While donating these clothes to a charitable institution is always a worthy option, here are 6 ways in which you can reuse these neglected or forgotten items that are cluttering up your personal space and, therefore, your life.

1)Make a t-shirt quilt

The most difficult items of clothing to get rid of are t-shirts – particularly those t-shirts that are attached to specific era or significant moment in a person’s life. A great way to preserve these t-shirts in a useful way is to cut out the logos/t-shirt images into large squares and sew them into a quilt. This method will not only allow you to consolidate important moments of your life that you have held onto in t-shirt form (think of it as a warm scrapbook), but it allows you to flex your creative muscle. And hey, you get an eclectic, multi-colored quilt out of the deal. And who doesn’t want an eclectic, multi-colored quilt?

2)Rags & dusters

Many clothing items can be cut into strips and given new life as rags and dusters. Why spend extra money on rags and dusters, when you have a closet full of potential cleaning material just waiting to be reborn?

3)Sew into bags and purses

These days it is trendy to spend ungodly sums of money on pretentious designer bags and purses, but you can help to buck this trend by re-using your old clothing as material for your own bags and purses – the designer being you. If you’d rather leave the stylish purse designing to the professionals, you can consider transforming old clothing into reusable grocery bags – just make sure the stitching and material you use is durable enough to handle your heavier groceries.

4)Sew into place mats

Who wants to spend money on place mats? Seems like a waste of money and material, right? Well, utilizing material that you’ve culled from old clothing and creating your own place mats is a great way to work with what you already have, and as a bonus, only requires a modicum of sewing ability.

5)Use as a replacement for bubble wrap or packing popcorn

It’s a shame that countless tons of material is used each year for simple things, such as protecting items being shipped or moved. Next time you ship an item or move residences, instead of spending money on bubble wrap or packing popcorn, consider using old clothing (old socks, for instance, work nicely) as insulation for the fragile items you are packing up.

6)Create toys and crafts for kids

By using your old clothing material to create dolls, costumes or puppets with your children, you can encourage creative production, instill a respect for recycling, and bond with your kids all at once. And hey, even if you don’t have any children handy, there is no rule forbidding adults to spend a little time in Imagination Land.

The next time you find yourself lamenting the mountain of unused clothing that you have accumulated over the years, don’t fret – simply begin planning your next artistic masterpiece!

About the Author

Ivy Newport is the president and product strategist at Every Little Bit, an online retail store featuring
eco-friendly products
for your every day needs. You are welcome to use this article provided you include a link to
Every Little Bit
to credit authorship.

2009 Year in Review: Sock Puppet Theatre

Sock Puppet (Disambiguation) $68.51 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles A sock puppet is a puppet made from a sock (or similar garment). When the manipulator fits a hand into the closed end of the sock, the puppet can be seemingly made to talk. The puppets mouth is formed by the region between the socks heel and toe, with the puppeteers thumb forming a jaw. At a minimum the shape of the hand will instantly form the shape of a mouth, but sometimes the mouth is padded by putting in a fairly hard piece of felt (often with a tongue glued inside). The sock is stretched out fully so that it is long enough to cover the puppeteers wrist and part of the arm. Often, but not always, the puppeteer will hide behind a stand and raise up his or her hand above the stand so that only the puppet is visible. Many sock puppeteers, however, stand in full view along with their puppets and will hold conversations with their own sock puppets, using ventriloquism. Author: Surhone, Lambert M./ Tennoe, Mariam T./ Henssonow, Susan F. Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 80 Publication Date: 2010/08/23 Language: English Dimensions: 6.00 x 9.02 x 0.19 inches

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VEGGIE TALES:LESSONS FROM THE SOCK DR BY VEGGIE TALES (DVD) $16.25 Join all the VeggieTales friends for Lessons From the Sock Drawer: A Collection of Veggie Shorts and Briefs a special collection of 18 of the most entertaining and zany lessonbased shorts from everyones favorite Veggies. When Bob and Larry get a letter from a little boy who has lost his hamster, they must find a way to cheer him up. Thankfully, Larry keeps The Veggie Vault in his sock drawer, so theres always a funny story close at hand. Cohosted by the vault keeper Lutfi the sock puppet (who first appeared in VeggieTales Sumo of the Opera), Lessons From the Sock Drawer is filled with hilarity, music and silliness, and will surely tickle everyones funny bone while teaching a few lessons along the way. Artist: VEGGIE TALES Genre: Childrens Video Rating: NR Release Date: 27MAR2012

Sock $66.91 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles Socks are a knitted or woven type of hosiery for enclosing the human feet.Sock is also the term given to the layer of leather or other material covering the insole of a shoe. When only part of the insole is covered, leaving the forepart visible, this is known as a halfsock. The foot is among the heaviest producers of sweat in the body, able to produce over a pint of perspiration per day. Socks help to absorb this sweat and draw it to areas where air can evaporate the perspiration. In cold environments, socks decrease the risk of frostbite. Its name may have originated by the shoes worn by Roman comic actors called soccus in Latin. It was a slipper and fitted loosely so it could be taken off quickly. Author: Surhone, Lambert M./ Timpledon, Miriam T./ Marseken, Susan F. Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 94 Publication Date: 2010/05/19 Language: English Dimensions: 5.98 x 9.01 x 0.22 inches

Images $21.5 No Synopsis Available